Poor neighbor Nancy.

You can’t see it very well in this picture, but Nancy and her husband Ned (not their real names, by the way. Are there any Neds left in the world anymore? I mean besides the Simpsons’ neighbor?) have a lovely deck back behind their house. It is complete with cozy chairs, windchimes, bird feeders, and little low tables. It seems like a perfect spa retreat spot. You can probably see part of it in this picture.

Since it was bright, sunny, and warm yesterday in Fort Collins, Nancy decided to go out onto her lovely deck to soak it all in. Before heading out the door, I am certain she eagerly anticipated soaking up a few moments of zen-like tranquility. 

Little did Nancy suspect that Backyard Neighbor #1 (immediately to her west) would have a crew busy at work building a new deck on their house. Or that Backyard Neighbor #2 (me) would be outside with his electric leaf blower blowing his dead, withered leaves into neat piles. Or that Backyard Neighbor #3 (to Nancy’s east) would have chosen that day as the day to have the grandkids over for a rousing game of croquet out in the back yard. 

More peace and quiet could probably have been found at the bowling alley down the street than on Nancy’s deck.

As I continued mindlessly blowing my leaves, I saw Nancy look around… I noticed her head droop and shoulders slump and a quiet sigh escape her lips… and then I saw her stand up, open her back door, and head back inside the house. 

For Nancy that day I knew… there would be NO JUSTICE… NO PEACE.

And in that moment, I felt a real kinship with her. 

With neighbors crammed as tightly in together as we are in this neighborhood, it is often a challenge to find any backyard peace and quiet around here. 

However, as we widen out our gaze and glance further afield, peace seems like it is hard to find almost anywhere in the world today, doesn’t it? Neighbors are killing neighbors in Israel and Palestine. Likewise in Ukraine, Sudan, and many other parts of the world. 

Peace is also a scarce commodity in countries wracked by endemic poverty. 

We can conclude that peace of heart and mind have vanished when we see record numbers of people end their own lives through suicide or addiction. Our fixation with social media also helps deplete the world’s storehouse of peace. It hypnotizes us and steals our peace by convincing us that our lives just don’t measure up. 

In the meantime, shaky finances ratchet up the adrenaline levels in our bloodstreams as we wonder how long we can walk that particular tightrope.

At times like these we sometimes take the bait and play the “if only” game. We conclude that “if only” our circumstances were different, we would know peace. If only we made more money. If only we had more friends. If only there were different leaders in our government. If only my family weren’t so dysfunctional. If only I were stronger, better looking, healthier, smarter, or more patient.

The setting was fraught with tension when Jesus met with his friends on that last night of his life. They had broken bread and celebrated the Passover Seder meal earlier in the night and had now moved outside to the garden. Jesus had hard news to deliver. He gathered them together to tell them this was it. He knew that in a few minutes he was going to be arrested, tried, tortured, and finally executed by Roman authorities. 

He wanted to prepare these friends for the hard road they were going to have to walk without him. He knew they would feel confused, grief-stricken, angry, and anxious. And so, he decided to give them each a gift. A gift that would see them through every circumstance they would ever face. 

As they sat there together, gathered under the olive trees, Jesus looked around at each of his disciples and said, ^“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27, NRSVU).

THAT is the peace he offers you and me here in November 2023. Jesus’ peace is not the peace of the perfect circumstance. But it is the peace that can pervade EVERY circumstance…

… even in a raucous suburban back yard.

Abundant blessings;